VETERANS FOR PEACE NEWS · by shrinking our assets down ever so small. The fine was $100, but that was a deal – A Justice Adventure, not a $250 rotten meal. I apologize to Dr. Seuss

by Steve McKeown

On a chilly November morning, protesters,some for the first time, and some who

have persisted for years, carried crosses to theclosed gates of Fort Benning in Georgia, hometo the School of the Americas (SOA). As aname was read off that was on the back of anindividual cross that each person in a solemnprocession carried, we raised up thousands ofcrosses to acknowledge each person’s pres-ence - PRESENTE - a presence proclaimed inthe face of graduates who were trained on theother side of the fence by a school that haskilled thousands, including the names we car-ried.

After the crosses were placed in the fence,bubbles were blown signifying our spirits

crossing the fence. The puppeteers then cameas angels of the Resurrection. This was a litur-gy, and I couldn't help but notice the manySecurity Police listening and paying attention.Others noticed this also. I can’t help but thinkthat some of them would like to open thosegates.

Along with us gray hairs in our bus fromMinneapolis, there were students and teachersfrom the U of M, St. Catherine University,Macalester College, the Univ. of St Thomas,and Cretin Derham Hall High School, andinterns from the St. Joseph Worker House.Milt and Dave from Minnesota Coaches wereour drivers once again, and they went beyondthe call of duty in accommodating us. BethAnne Nelson, also called “Bus Mom” by the

Winter 2013-14, volume XVII, issue 4

VETERANS FOR PEACE NEWSMINNESOTA VETERANS FOR PEACE, CHAPTER 27

Veterans for PeaceNews is published quar-terly by MinnesotaVeterans for Peace,Chapter 27.

Veterans for Peaceworks to increaseawareness of the costsof war, restrain govern-ment from interveningin the internal affairs ofother nations, end thearms race, reduce andeventually eliminatenuclear weapons, seekjustice for veterans andvictims of war, andabolish war as aninstrument of nationalpolicy.

We pledge to use demo-cratic and nonviolentmeans to achieve ourpurpose.

To subscribe tothis newsletter,

please call:612-821-9141

Or write:Veterans For Peace

1806 Riverside Ave., #3aMinneapolis, MN 55454.

Or e-mail:[email protected]

Our website is:www.vfpchapter27.org.

Newsletter committee:

Frank Fuller, editor;Tom Dooley, PatDowney, Jennie

Downey, Joan Johnson,Steve McKeown, BarryRiesch, Chante Wolf.

“There won’t be anytrumpets blowing comethe Judgement Day —on the bloody morningafter, one tin soldierrides away...”

(Potter & Lambert) Protesters, cont’d page 13

Crosses with the names of SOA graduates’ victims are carried to the gates of FortBenning in a march held annually at the SOA. photo by Barry Riesch

Area students join protests at SOA

THE MIDDAY RIDE OF BOB AND ROGEERAfter Bob Heberle died, I wrote this for Jean Heberle andRoger Cuthbertson, about the famous June 26, 2006 boatride. WAMM sent it out, but I realized we haven’t:

Listen my children, and you shall hearof the midday ride of Bob and Rogeer.Trying to make a statement to Cheney,they couldn’t get in, so it just got zany.

By land $250, so they tried by lake.What this is about, just makes my heart ache.

They went by pontoon. Police stopped their craft.Everyone cheered. They left by raft.The raft got closer; the men arrested,

for bringing some sense to the party investedIn war profiteering and hurting us all,

by shrinking our assets down ever so small.The fine was $100, but that was a deal –

A Justice Adventure, not a $250 rotten meal.

I apologize to Dr. Seuss and to Roger for spelling hisname wrong to make it sounds like Longfellow’s MidnightRide of Paul Revere.

LONGFELLOW’S BELLS, AND OURS Speakingof Longfellow, I just found out he also wrote “I heard thebells on Christmas day, their old familiar carols play,” withits refrain of “peace on earth, good will toward men” in thebenign manner of a card message, having nothing to do withworking to make it happen.

I found out because we have a State Arts Board grantfor veterans to cast bells with sculptor, Gita Ghei, in thewake of our long-time Armistice effort. Last year it spreadto over 50 cities in the U.S., with civic ceremonies, andchurches joining in, ringing bells 11 times at 11 a.m. onNovember 11, with a moment of silence to commit to work-ing for peace. The effort will culminate with an event onMarch 20, World Storytelling Day, with songs and stories ofbells for peace, and an invitation for bells of peace to ringaround the world. In searching for material, we learned thatLongfellow’s son was severely wounded in the Civil War,and the last verse “speaks out,” which is probably why wehaven’t heard it, why it’s not out there to inspire more tojoin us:

by Larry Johnson, President, Chapter 27

This is my last newsletter article as chapter president.When asked five years ago to serve, I went through all

the reasons I couldn’t or shouldn’t and then felt honored tobe asked. I’ve been pleased with the opportunity, but nowI feel a need to turn over the details of the “presidency.” I’veworked as a storyteller/educator all my life, and I want tofocus more now on the work we do as veterans, for peace,in the schools. So, a few final details:

WAR IS OBSOLETE Thanks to Father Tony Krolland Sister Merle Nolde for asking Steve McKeown and meto speak on this topic at St. Benedict’s College and at PaxChristi. The St. Ben’s Peace Club recruited extra listeners,many of whom got behind the obsolescence of war, impliedby the Kellogg-Briand Pact. They will continue.

THANK PRO-PEACE BUSINESS I’m alwaysalarmed when I hear people talking like all business is bad.My reaction is always: “Where do you think the moneycomes from to run your non-profit?” Yes, there are enor-mous corporations, harming us all by making excessiveprofits on warfare and devastating the environment, but themajority of businesses are small businesses, providing jobsand services. The “powers that be” misquote Adam Smith,classical guru of free enterprise, the same way they do theBible.

Smith, often used to support deregulating everything,actually said, “If it looks like war is coming, leaders shouldtax people up front to pay for it. If they know they have topay, they won’t allow it to happen unnecessarily or go onindefinitely. This is important because nations, as a whole,have more prosperity during times of peace.” The 1920’soutlawry movement (leading to the Kellogg-Briand Pact),was started by Chicago businessperson, Sal Levinson, whoset out to do something about his discovery that World WarI had devastated many small businesses. So the best way tothank a business is to utilize their services.

I want to thank Hendlin Communications this way.When I started as president, they rescued our dysfunctionalwebsite and managed it until last year when member GregHagen took it over. Hendlin provides full business commu-nications support (they also did all the media and commu-nications work for our 2008 National Convention), and areferral to them is a solid “thank you.” If you just need asmall website built, talk to Greg. He’s in business doingthat, but his main mission is ours.

PAGE 2 WINTER 2013-14 MINNESOTA VETERANS FOR PEACE CHAPTER 27

Continued next page

The divine is in the details

MINNESOTA VETERANS FOR PEACE CHAPTER 27 WINTER 2013-14 PAGE 3

This War Business:If only . . .by Tom Dooley

If the U.S. had stayed out of Vietnam, the Viet Minhwould have taken over in short order and there wouldnot have been 58,000 dead Americans and 3,000,000dead Vietnamese and 2500 U.S. MIAs and 30,000Vietnamese MIAs and hundreds of thousand ofVietnamese and U. S. children with birth defects due tothe war crime of Agent Orange.

If the U.S. had stayed out of Vietnam, they would beway ahead of where they are today WITHOUT thebloodshed on all sides. And we have made the same mis-take around the world, especially in the Middle East.The only winners have been the “merchants of death,”who have made FORTUNES on these illegal, immoral,undeclared wars!

* * * * *When you donate to the Marine Corps “Toys

ForTots” campaign, ask them how many toys they aregiving to children in Iraq and Afghanistan.

* * * * *Heard on NPR: a report on composer Benjamin

Britten: He was openly gay and a conscientious objectorin WWII. Which takes the most guts, coming out orrefusing a military draft? I'd say more guts than eitherhomophobes or war-loving patriots have.

* * * * *And remember what Cowper said: “War is a game

that kings would not play, were their subjects wise”.Wise Up!

LEADERS HAVE POWER....POWER COR-RUPTS!

The War Crimes TimesRead what “THEY”

don’t want you to read.Know what “THEY”

don’t want you to know.

www.warcrimestimes.org

In despair I bowed my head;“There is no peace on earth,” I said.

“For hate is strong and mocks the song of peaceon earth, good will toward men”

Then peeled the bells more loud and deep:“God is not dead, nor doth he sleep.

The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,with peace on earth, good-will toward men”

DO WHAT YOU CAN I got a letter last month,addressed to “President Johnson,” telling me that since Ihadn’t denounced either of the wars, Iraq and Afghanistan,started since I was President, it was long past time for my“reign to end.” Well, I said it’s ending, but I’m going to askthat criticism be predicated with fact check. I didn’t evenbelong to Veterans For Peace when the wars in Iraq andAfghanistan started. I was speaking out, from other plat-forms, and I know VFP leadership was doing the same.

More importantly (or seriously?) I’m going to encour-age living by the “Wisdom of Wayne” (Wittman), whoadvised me once, “Encourage people to do as much as theycan, but praise them if all they do is wear a VFP hat in pub-lic.”

We’re all volunteers, so I’m thankful for whatever eachof us can do. In that vein, Don Irish sent us encouragementto continue to fight for release of unlawfully detained pris-oners at Guantanamo, coupled with a way, throughAmerican Friends Service Committee, to sign on and men-tor released captives back into moderately sane, civilianlife. Don can be reached to discuss this at 612-724-3061.

Also, Will Shapira has found a way for individuals, soinclined, to write letters of hope and encouragement to peo-ple judged to be political prisoners. The website, givingaddresses and more information, is www.thejerichomove-ment.com It includes known people like Lynne Stewart andLeonard Peltier, as well as many more we’ve not heard of.Chelsea/Bradley Manning isn’t there (yet?), but thataddress can be accessed thru www.couragetoresist.org

Soldiers: Know Your RightsTo Soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan:

You took an oath to uphold theConstitution, not to support

policies that are illegal.The GI Hotline phone number is:

1-800-394-9544


by Steve McKeown

Invited by Father Tony Kroll, Larry Johnson and Ispoke to the Student Peace Club at St. Benedict Collegein St. Joseph, and later to the St. Cloud PAX CHRISTIchapter. Tony also told us about an action at Rep. Kline’soffice that he was helping to plan. He invited us to come,so I brought the VFP banner to support their action, whichwas to ask Kline to support immigration reform with apath to citizenship. There were approximately 300 peo-ple of all ages present in support, and since they hadn’t

gotten anywhere with Kline, ten people including Tonytook part in civil disobedience.

There were at least 15 marked squad cars from twomunicipalities and a number of unmarked ones present,and they closed Burnsville Parkway. The police were linedup along the boulevard staring everyone down, even insome cases little children. No doubt this protected all thecommuters from these dangerous children, their parents,teachers, religious leaders, and other dangerous dissidents,

by Steve McKeown

On a bitter cold morning at the First Shot CannonMemorial near the State Capitol, our VFP chapter onceagain conducted an Armistice Day Remembrance, whichwas organized by Wayne Wittman. Speakers included RobinMonahan from Move to Amend who spoke about corporatepersonhood and the inherent dangers this brings. BruceStahlberg with Mn Truth talked about the need for an inves-tigation into 9/11, because of the wars that were predicatedon the official version of the event. Jack Nelson Pallmeyerspoke about the Minnesota Arms Control Spending Projectand what kind of future we could have without the obscenemilitary spending our nation has undertaken for some time.All the speakers encouraged our involvement in theseissues. Jack in particular urged VFP to become as public aspossible in all these efforts.

At 11 a.m Bruce Berry and Barry Riesch rang the bells.Shortly afterwards, the 21-gun salute by other veteranorganizations near the Vietnam Memorial rang out. LarryJohnson, our President has pointed out that traditionallywhen there was a truce between enemies to gather up thedead and wounded the 21-gun salute meant it was time tostart fighting again. Armistice Day meant to stop fighting.Is it no wonder the name was changed? Gita Ghei then dis-played one of the bells that she is teaching some of us in aclass she is leading. (See page 15.)

For the fifth year we have worked with the Sisters of StJoseph Carondolet on Armistice evening. Each month since9/11 they have held a Peace Prayer Event, and on November11th they choose the Armistice Remembrance. I plannedthis year’s event with Ginger Hedstrom from Carondelet.On Nov 11th, her father died and she wasn’t able to emcee

the event, but she was there to film it so it could be sentthroughout their community. Just as the bells that were rungin joy in 1918 that “the war to end war” was over, the bellsthis year had a somber meaning for the families of thosewho didn’t come home, and I am sure that was part of thetone for Ginger. Joanne Tromiczak Neid, Social JusticeCoordinator, emceed the event. Also participating were:

St. Paul City Councilman David Thune, who read theProclamation recognizing the 85th anniversary of theKellogg Briand Pact that he was instrumental in gettingpassed unaniminously. David also reflected on several occa-sions in his past that helped him to unhesitatingly agree torecognize this historic pact when we asked him. One occa-sion was when he planted wheat seeds on nuclear missilesilo sites when he was younger in North Dakota, and howthe mayor refused to prosecute him. Another time was at aNagasaki commemoration he attended with his wife to lay awreath on behalf of St Paul, which is their sister city.

Jim Steinhagen read The Voice of God by KurtVonnegut in which Kurt interviewed old veterans whoremembered the silence at 11 a.m. on Armistice Day andswore it was the Voice of God. David and Brigid McDonaldsang “Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream,” a song of dis-armament. Brigid also sang “The Patriot Game.” ShanaBerg, an actress in the upcoming play called LonelySoldiers: Women at War in Iraq, did a powerful readingfrom that play (see calendar events). I rang the bells, and weclosed with “Silent Night” in memory of the ChristmasTruce of 1914 in which soldiers from both sides of thetrench warfare in WWI dropped their weapons and cele-brated Christmas together in the middle of no-man’s land.

Armistice remembrances

Immigration issue related to SOA

Continued next page

by Bruce Berry

Although it was a beautiful, sunny,November afternoon in front of theWhite House, a somber direct action wastaking place. A 10-foot wide model of akiller drone hovered over symbolic tomb-stones, recognizing and honoring the vic-tims of drone warfare. Stories fromYemen delegates present for the 2013International Drone Summit (Nov. 15-17in Washington D.C.) filled the air. Amarch to the General Atomics offices(drone makers) followed the summit’sopening action. The first day ended afteran evening reception at Bus Boys &Poets, which featured the filmUnmanned: America’s Drone Wars byRobert Greenwald.

Saturday morning, the numbers swelled at GeorgetownLaw Center’s Hart Auditorium where the Summit, themed“Drones around the Globe: Proliferation and Resistance”took place. CodePink was the lead organization and over thenext two days put together panel discussions and workshopswith over 40 speakers. About 400 attended, out of whichthere were about a dozen Veterans For Peace members.

To watch/listen to some coverage via C-Span, includingthe opening by Medea Benjamin and featured speakerCornel West, go to www.c-spanvideo.org/program/GlobePor Codepink.org

The program provided valuable information, including

the legality of drone strikes, drone proliferation, and thedomestic use of drones. Speakers came from Yemen,Pakistan, Germany and the UK. Even our own Minnesotapoet/activist, Misty Rowan, attended and not only per-formed her brilliant art form but helped conduct a workshoptitled “Art, Poetry and the Words of Resistance.”

In closing, a short personal note: Not only did I walkaway from the Summit with a continued commitment tohelp expose the truth of militarized drone use by air, butalso learned much about the current autonomous robotic useworldwide “on the ground!!”

who were asking only for some of their people to be ableto become American citizens. The ten activists werearrested and “civilization” was saved for the time being!The whole thing reminded me of the overkill at the SOAby security types.

The connection here is that often a good number ofthese immigrants originally came to the U.S. because ofour repressive foreign policy, which is carried out by themilitary muscle of the SOA.

There were buses of people from S.t Cloud. andHoly Rosary and Incarnation Churches in Minneapolisin support. You can help by calling yourCongressperson, and as an extra John Kline even if youare not in his district. After all the Border Patrol andraids do not recognize Legislative lines. Kline’s numberis 952 808 1213.


Support Mayday BooksFind a wide range of books and periodicals at 15%

off cover price. All the time!

301 Cedar Ave., West Bank(downstairs under the bike shop)

Mayday Books has been a consistent and significantsupporter of Chapter 27 for many years. The volunteerstaff has provided help with mailings and has donatedbooks for the use of our group. It is also a great place

to drop in and have a cup of coffee and talk withwhomever happens to be there and find that book you

have been looking for.

Hours: M-F noon to 7 p.m, Sat. noon to 6 p.m.

Drone use around the world

Protesters outside The White House. photo by Josie Lenwell

by Chante Wolf

Afew weeks ago in a writing class I am taking, someoneoffered a few pages of their story to our group for cri-

tique. In the story, two gay men confront a group of angryanti-war protesters in 1968 who had just thrown a plasticbag of urine on a returning Vietnam veteran. The protestersthen turned against the gay men calling them faggots andother nasty things. I had serious misgivings right off aboutthat particular scene and said so, then offered a list of booksto read and suggested the DVD Sir! No, Sir! to watch, feel-ing confident that I held more answers and experience thanthat Desert Storm veteran who wrote the story.

In the past I never used to challenge the testimony of aveteran telling me they had been spit on; I just assumed itmay have happened to a few. Besides, what the heck did Iknow? I was in junior high and high school back then.

A few days later I had lunch with a fellow woman vet-eran who was an officer in the Air Force in the late 70’s andtold her about this article I was preparing to write around themyth of the spitting image, when she told me she was spiton by a very angry older male passenger on the bus she hadjust boarded, wearing her full dress uniform. She said thatthe man went on and on, cursing her relentlessly, but overwhat she did not know. She told me that she just sat theretotally revolted by what had just been done to her that shecouldn’t really understand what he was going on and onabout.

I sat there dumbstruck, as I had just told her about thebook I read, The Spitting Image, which stated that most ofthe veterans who claimed they had been spit on hadn’t been.And I was at a total loss for what I was even going toattempt to write about. I felt like my ego was slimed all overme and that I was back in high school during my haze weekfor a new woman’s club. I certainly was not going to argue.How was I going to tell someone sitting across from mewhom I totally respected and considered my friend, thatthey were wrong and that I knew it all? I did the best I couldto tap dance and regain my composure without looking likeI had just been run over by a train and just told her honest-ly that I was wrong. No matter how much backtracking Idid, I still felt I had insulted her experience and others whomay have really been spit on, though I still feel it didn’t hap-pen as much as it has been played up for us to believe.

All of a sudden, I was back to square one. What was itreally that I wanted to write about? How could I keep goingin the direction I was, all confident that I held all theanswers, when I didn’t? What was motivating me to sitdown at my computer and type out something that others

would actually be interested in reading about anyway?Having such a bad taste in my mouth around the recentVeterans Day, I knew I wanted to address our country’s dis-information and propaganda program going full tilt againstus in the peace movement.

The conversation with my friend transported me back to1980 and my first base after basic training, Keesler, AFB,Mississippi. I was there for air traffic control training, afield that had just been opened to women. The first time Ileft the base since my arrival I recalled that we were to be inour dress blues when in the civilian public. I had taken ourmilitary bus to the local shopping mall and the whole time Iwalked around I felt as if all eyes were burning a hole intomy back. I swear I felt as if I had the plague or somethingmore heinous and sinister that the military hadn’t told meabout. Perhaps deep down I had been paying attention whenI was in high school to Vietnam on TV every night. Perhapswhat I was feeling was the residual resentment and angerfrom civilians who felt they had sacrificed too many of theirloved ones in Vietnam for war crimes, rape and torture, nothonor, freedom and liberation as it was being sold to them.Stopping Communism over there was to prevent the domi-no affect. All bullshit, just like now and our need to exportDemocracy through violence to Afghanistan and Iraq.

Perhaps it was that we new recruits all knew deep downinside that our jobs, whether it was a medic, an air trafficcontroller, a clerk or a security police personnel, had every-thing to do with killing other human beings, destroying vil-lages and winning war using all means available. We justcouldn’t speak it. The depth of being paid to support orcarry out killing others was just too old and evil for our sim-ple, young, virgin minds.

The power of fear is immense. Most of us fear to beseen as weak, as not supporting the people who join the mil-itary, and yet unable to stand up to bullies. Some of ourleaders have shelled out billions of dollars to PR firms whoare masters of masquerade, chilling our minds with illusionsof heroism, freedom and myth and daggers for those whodare to challenge the lies.

So, who did spit on whom and how many? Does it mat-ter? What are the ways to challenge that image when itcomes up without anger or indifference? I think it is reallyimportant to just keep talking, questioning and daring thoseholding tight to those spitting myths to let go and dig deep-er into the power if those myths and that they are reallyusing shame and fear to conform whole populations for thebenefit of the few in power.


The Power of the ‘Spitting Image’


by Barry Riesch

How are we doing on our mission of abolishing war?Are we using our time to our best advantage? Are there bet-ter ways we could be using our energy? These are questionsseveral members of Chapter 27 took on as we acted on thesuggestion of taking an internal look at our chapter.

Rekindling the VFP retreat experience on a cold windyOctober weekend at a cabin on the shores of Lake Superior.Just past Two Harbors, this cozy retreat was provided for usby Dave Logsdon, a perk from his employer. The view wasbeautiful, the wind howling and waves crashing up againstthe stony shore line just a short distance away, and made foran exciting experience.

With ample time for playing, hiking and socializing, wealso had a couple of sessions with serious discussion abouthow we are doing and setting some goals. What we deter-mined is that we are doing many things right (Kellogg-Briand, SOA, Armistice Day, Memorial Day, school-speak-ing engagements, anti-drones) and we hope to continue to

expand and broaden these efforts. We did conclude that anarea which needs work is our growth as an organization.

As Michael McPherson, acting executive director ofNational states: “Our membership is graying and time isdiminishing our ranks. We need to break the code on attract-ing and maintaining new members for our success and tocontinue to have the impact we seek to make.”

One of the goals we set at the retreat was to focus ener-gy on recruiting new members. We want to have ten newmembers by the end of next year. Also we want to reactivatethose who have joined but not kept up their membership.How will we go about this? The strategic planning part isstill to come. We will be having another gathering in thenear future focused on laying out a plan to accomplish thisand other goals.

We will need all of your help to accomplish this mis-sion. Veterans For Peace is too valuable an organization tolet die due to an aging population and lack of activism.

Please stay tuned and join in.For more information, contact me at 651-641-1087

Chapter retreat sets goal of increased membership

by Marie Braun

The WAMM End War Committee (formerly theWAMM Iraq Committee) is dedicated to ending U.S.involvement in war, the threats of war, and the use ofweapons of war.

The committee began in 1998 with a focus on endingthe economic sanctions on Iraq, which were responsiblefor the deaths of up to 5,000 children a month. Following9/11, the committee also focused on the U.S. war onAfghanistan and later on the threats of war against Iraq,Syria, Iran, and North Korea.

Our weekly Wednesday vigil on the LakeStreet/Marshall Avenue Bridge began in April, 1999. Thisvigil is an important ongoing public witness against war;it also reminds us of the terrible plight of the people, espe-cially children, who live with the suffering and deprivationthat war brings. On April 30, we will celebrate 15 years ofresistance to war and hope that Veterans For Peace andothers who have come to the bridge over the years willjoin us for this special event. (See calendar listing.)

The committee has also organized many peace events,

including demonstrations, fasts, educational forums, andvisits to the offices of our congressional leaders. We haveworked with various peace and justice coalitions, organ-ized an annual candlelight service for the child victims ofwar and sponsored several speaking tours for peaceactivists Sami Rasouli and Kathy Kelly.

We appreciate the work of Veterans For Peace and areespecially honored to join with them in reminding theAmerican people of the true meaning of Armistice Day,the day the world agreed to end all wars, and the KelloggBriand Pact, another effort to renounce war.

While we may never be able to fill their shoes, wehope to do our best to follow in the footsteps of peace-makers who have gone before: Dorothy Day, MahatmaGandhi, Jane Addams, Howard Zinn, Martin Luther King,Jr., Daniel Berrigan and so many others who believed inthe dignity of every human person and understood theimmorality and the futility of war, war which is the ulti-mate form of violence and certainly a crime againsthumanity.

Acting against war and the threats of war.


by Coleen Rowley

Last month Ray McGovern, Jesselyn Radack, ThomasDrake and I got a wonderful opportunity to fly to

Moscow to present our “Sam Adams Award for Integrity inIntelligence” (http://www.raymcgovern.com/sam-adams-award.html) to NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. Theannual award goes to someone facing a moral dilemma sim-ilar to that faced by the late CIA analyst Sam Adams, a col-league of Ray McGovern’s, who, in the late 1960’s discov-ered the truth about Vietnamese troop strength being doublewhat U.S. Generals were willing to admit in order to mis-lead the American public thatthey were making progress inthe war on Vietnam.

Our trip fell under thehumanitarian category forRussian visas but there weresome tense moments waiting inthe Russian Consulate in Washington D.C., just a coupledays before our plane was set to depart, to find out if all the“t’s” had been properly crossed and “i’s” dotted on our visaapplication paperwork. Although the plane trip wasuneventful, the train and various cab rides were a uniqueexperience given Moscow’s unusual traffic. We stayed in anice hotel, just about a 20 minute walk from “Red Square”but different cab drivers got lost taking us back. We foundlittle time to sightsee but did manage to see the Red Squareat night and, on our last evening there, we were able to takein (the highly recommended) Moscow River cruise whichpasses by some of the city’s main points of interest.

The highlight of our trip, of course, was our Oct. 9thhonoring of Edward Snowden held at an undisclosed loca-tion. (See Ray McGovern’s full description at http://consor-tiumnews.com/2013/10/10/snowden-accepts-whistleblow-er-award/, my interview on local FOX 9, and a DemocracyNow group interview after our return.) The award ceremo-ny was also attended by Snowden’s attorney, AnatolyKucherena, his translator and Wikileaks journalist SarahHarrison who had helped Snowden seek foreign asylum.Jesselyn Radack of the Government Accountability Project,put it well when she told The Nation, “We believe thatSnowden exemplifies Sam Adams’s courage, persistenceand devotion to truth, no matter what the consequences. Wewanted Snowden to know that, as opposed to the daily vit-riol from the U.S. government and mainstream media, 60percent of the United States supports him, including thou-

sands in the national security and intelligence agencieswhere we used to work.”

We found Edward to be highly intelligent, squaredaway, sincere and serious about the need for reform. Wetold him that his goal of starting a debate had already beenachieved and that congressional committees were holdinghearings and proposing reforms of the NSA’s dragnet datacollection. Snowden, in turn, expressed his belief that theNSA’s surveillance programs put people in danger, hurt theU.S. and its economy, and “limit our ability to speak andthink and live and be creative, to have relationships and toassociate freely” as well as putting people “at risk of com-

ing into conflict with our owngovernment.”

In our view, this makesEdward Snowden a true patriotwhose truth-telling is sincerelymotivated, geared solely towardsreform, reining in the NSA and

curtailing human rights abuses in order to improve the situ-ation of the U.S., and its own as well as the world’s citizens.We talked into the wee hours about the fact that the truth hasa way of eventually coming out, citing the examples ofother great historical figures, like Albert Einstein andMartin Luther King Jr., who were falsely accused and tar-nished by the spymasters of their day. In fact, experts saythat the type of spying the NSA is now doing is exactly thekind of thing King George imposed on the Americancolonists that led to the Revolutionary War. It was noneother than Benjamin Franklin who leaked documents (in1774) showing colonists’ rights were being abridged byBritish officials. And for that, Founding Father Franklin alsohad to endure being called every name in the book.

What can we do to help the courageous NSA whistle-blower get the truth out and further the reform process? Forstarters, there’s this Roots Action petition to sign, askingSecretary of State Kerry to reinstate Snowden’s passport(since his only “crime” was to educate Americans and theworld about the dangerous growth of the U.S. surveillancestate). Also be aware that “The Battle of the NSASurveillance Bills” has begun. Senate Judiciary ChairPatrick Leahy and House Representative JamesSensenbrenner (author of the Patriot Act who claims theExecutive’s secret interpretations were never what legisla-tors intended) have co-sponsored the USA Freedom Act.

Honoring Edward Snowden with the Sam Adams Awardfor Integrity in Intelligence

Snowden, continued on next page

The type of spying the NSA is now doingis exactly the kind of thing King George

imposed on the American coloniststhat led to the Revolutionary War.

by Mary and Nick Eoloff

Recently, at a Middle East Peace Now meeting, we lis-tened to Syrian-American Mazen Halabi make an impas-sioned plea for his people. The revolution in Syria, he said,began three years ago when school kids were writing slo-gans on a wall. They were taken by security and tortured.The community organized and rallied with the slogan,“Freedom and Dignity.” Perpetually oppressed by dictators(19 presidents since 1936) who ruled with martial law andsuspended the constitution, the Syrians did not want com-munism nor capitalism. They wanted liberation of the econ-omy, employment and civil rights.

The Damascus Spring was a conversation of peopletalking about a democratic state. In response, the strategyof the regime was to kill a few people and then blame it onIslam, the Taliban or the terrorists. Since 2000, PresidentBashar al-Assad has controlled 23 million people withpower and fear. transferring public properties into privateestablishments, building prisons and allotting nearly a bil-lion dollars for intelligence services. “Dictatorship,” Mazenremarked, “is like organized crime.” It is documented thatAssad used chemical weapons 12 times before the recentrevelations. As the repression and violence mounted, thepeople took up arms.

And what about the U.S.-Syrian relationship? The U.S.,he maintains, has always seen the countries of the Middle

East as either an enemy or a gas station. U. S. foreign pol-icy has been to protect Israel, protect oil and keep Iran fromgetting nuclear weapons. Our aid needs to be used for jobs,seeds and machinery, NOT weapons. The U. S. needs to seethe people of Syria as human.

With respect to Israel, the November 2013 issue of themagazine The Washington Report on Middle East Affairslists the current estimate of cumulative total U.S. direct aidto Israel from 1949 until 2013 as $130,212 billion and $3billion, 624 thousand in the year 2013. It is an estimatebecause arriving at an exact amount is not possible sinceparts of the aid to Israel are buried in the budgets of variousUS agencies or in a form not quantifiable, such as early dis-bursement of aid resulting in a direct benefit of interestincome to Israel and the corresponding loss to the U.S.Treasury. Israel is the largest cumulative recipient of U.S.aid since World War II. Keep in mind, that Israel is a first-world country.

Another benefit to Israel that is an unquantifiable cost tothe U.S. taxpayer is the private, tax-exempt money (proba-bly in the hundreds of millions of dollars) that is collectedby charitable U.S. Jewish and Christian Zionist groups thatsend the money to support Israel’s settlement policies andsettlement-related causes, including groups designated bythe U.S. as foreign terrorist organizations. Since every tax-exempt dollar that goes to the settlements represents a lossto the U.S. Treasury, that means the U.S. taxpayer has indi-rectly subsidized Israel’s settlements to the tune of tens ofmillions of dollars, or more.


“It’s really not a numberI'm terribly interested in.”

Colin Powell responding to a question aboutthe number of Iraqis who were slaughtered by

Americans in 1991

This bill would end the NSA’s bulk collection of phone callrecords and significantly curb its ability to sweep up otherprivate information of Americans.

On the other side, Sen. Diane Feinstein, head of thepowerful Senate Intelligence Committee, has already suc-ceeded in pushing her FISA Improvements Act through herCommittee (undoubtedly supported by House IntelligenceRepublican Chair Mike Rogers). Their bill would actuallycodify and expand the NSA’s illegal spying.

It’s crucial therefore for everyone to contact your owncongresspersons to let them know you want them to opposethe Feinstein bill and support the Leahy-Sensenbrenner bill.Personal calls are needed as well as emails.

In addition, Minnesota Senators Klobuchar andFranken have tended to defer to Feinstein on such issueseven though they sit on the Judiciary Committee. So it’sespecially important to call them.

A view on Syria and Israel

Changing Address?

If you are moving please let us know, so you canreceive your newsletter. Even if you leave a for-warding address with the post office, it still maycost us an additional $ 1.10 each time so please

let us know. Thank you

Snowden, from previous page


JFK and the Unspeakable:Why He Died and Why It Matters(Orbis Books, 2008) by James Douglass

Reviewed by Gerald Ganaan

First, let me say that this is hands-down the best bookever written about the assassination of JFK. Everyone whois interested in JFK’s presidency or his assassination (and byassociation the MLK and RFK assassinations) should with-out question read this book.

Having said that, I promise toavoid revealing too much about thebook, which would deprive new read-ers the delicious experience of discov-ery through reading.

James Douglass, a long-timeactivist, really needs no introduction tothe peace community. His on-goingstruggle against war and nuclearweapons (particularly the Trident sub-marine) is well known.

In JFK and the Unspeakable Mr.Douglass has produced a thoroughlyreadable, well-reasoned and meticu-lously researched book (100 of thenearly 500 pages are reference notes);so for readers like myself, who fre-quently check footnoted references,this is a two bookmark book.

The term “The Unspeakable” inthe book title refers to the term as usedin the writings of Trappist monkThomas Merton. Throughout the sixties, until his death in1968, Merton wrote with determined eloquence on the evilsof racism and war (especially nuclear war), and the nation-al security state dependent on war. Following the assassi-nations of JFK, Malcolm X, MLK and RFK, and the esca-lation of the Vietnam War, he coined the term “TheUnspeakable” to refer to the evil he sensed behind all ofthese terrible events. It is an evil so horrible that there is novocabulary to describe it.

The subtitle “Why He Died and Why It Matters” con-veys the true import of this book. In exploring the questionof why he died, Douglass presents a tour-de-force of schol-arly research that reveals JFK as a cold warrior turning topeace in the pressure cooker of the Presidency.

From JFK’s initial rejection of the Unspeakable when

he refused to commit the U.S. military to the invasion ofCuba following the “failed” Bay of Pigs operation, Kennedywas locked in a battle with elements of the government hepurportedly was in charge of. Kennedy repeatedly rebuffedpressures from the national security state for nuclear strikeoptions and military solutions to political problems. Thenin October of 1962, Kennedy and Khrushchev brought theworld to the brink of a nuclear exchange. The dogs of warstrained at their leashes and howled for the confrontationthey had long desired: to unleash their terrible weapons andsee who, if anyone, was left standing. Khrushchev wasunder similar pressures in the Soviet Union. Only through

back-channel communications (initiatedby JFK) between these two men werethey able to avoid a nuclear war that ele-ments on both sides dreadfully sought.

This close and personal brush withnuclear annihilation served to fortifyJFK’s turn away from war, to peacefulmeans of conflict resolution. Throughout1963, Kennedy pursued peace. In themonth preceding his death, he hadsigned NSAM 263, revealing the firststep in the plan he had worked on allsummer for complete withdrawal fromVietnam.

Using heretofore classified informa-tion that was not available to earlier writ-ers, Douglass reveals JFK’s secret back-channel initiatives with Khrushchev andCastro to end the cold war, to normalizerelations with Cuba, and to pursue com-plete and total disarmament.

So if Kennedy had lived to pursuethe goals of his second term, where might we be today?Certainly there would have been no Vietnam War for theU.S. (and probably no CIA); complete nuclear disarma-ment, and with no nuclear weapons, no nuclear reactors,which only make sense when they produce materials forsuch weapons, therefore no Chernobyl, no Three MileIsland and no Fukushima. The full extent of the ramifica-tions of a second term for JFK are difficult to imagine, butthey certainly would have been preferable to the realitydelivered by the “Unspeakable.”

Douglass constructs a compelling portrait of a man wholooked into the eye of The “Unspeakable” and turned awayand who actively sought to save us all from the evils of the“Unspeakable.”

They could not allow that.

The Unspeakable


by Dave Logsdon

KFAI is a community owned and operated radio stationsituated right next door to our Veterans For Peace officehere in the West Bank Neighborhood of Minneapolis. EverySunday morning they invite various groups to put togetheran hour-long program. Our VFP chapter took advantage ofthis opportunity and on the day before Armistice Day, wepresented “The Veterans for Peace Hour”!

The show was a mixture of anti-war music and myinterviews with guests. My two guests for this show mademy job very easy. Regis Tremblay, who is the Director of anew Documentary called The Ghost of Jeju Island, talkedabout what inspired him to do the film and some of thebrave protesters fighting the building of a U.S military basewhere there once was a quiet fishing village. The film wasscreened that afternoon at the Parkway Theatre, so the inter-view was timely. (See article on page 12 for more informa-tion on the film.)

Longtime VFP member Steve McKeown was on nextand talked about the origins of our bell-ringing here atChapter 27. As usual, Steve, our resident visionary, wassuccinct and informative. The hour flew by so fast, I barelyhad time to get announcements about our Armistice Dayevents out. Lydia Howell, who hosts her own progressiveshow on KFAI, was our engineer and helped us immensely!

On Armistice Day itself, we had a full day of activities.Starting with the 11 a.m. bell ringing at the First ShotMemorial on the State Capital grounds and ending with acouple of programs in the evening.

The program I participated in was at Brit’s Pub indowntown Minneapolis. This was our third year of helpingsponsor and participate in this program. Some of the main-stream military folks that are a part of the program havebeen more than a little skeptical of the “anti-war” Vetsreminding people that war is not a football game, but a hor-rific arena of suffering and terror. I was able to get our ownMichael Orange on the program reading from his book,Fire in the Hole; A Mortarman’s year in Vietnam, andSteven D’Ambrose from the History Theatre doing a read-ing from their spring production of Tim O’briens book TheThings They Carried. We followed those emotional read-ings with our bell ringing.

It was a very powerful evening and especially signifi-cant in that we weren’t just preaching to the choir but reach-ing out with our message to the greater community.

A Busy Armistice Weekendby Frank Fuller

It’s not just that the NSA is trashing civil rights. It turnsout that it is damaging the bottom lines of some of thelargest tech companies in the world. Sen. Ron Wyden, whohas been trying to rein in the NSA, said last month, “If aforeign enemy was doing this much damage to the econo-my, people would be in the streets with pitchforks.”

Now AOL, Apple, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn,Microsoft, Twitter and Yahoo are joining together to rein inNSA. They have published letters in major newspapers andhave started a website outlining their position atReformGovernmentSurveillance.com.

These companies have never been too concerned withthe privacy of their users; their business is to collect and sellpersonal information. But now bottom lines are being dam-aged. The following are just some of the damages as report-ed by The Electronic Frontier Foundation (eff.org), Quartz(qz.com), an online business magazine, and the economicsblog Naked Capitalism:

Cisco Systems, which makes networking hardware,saw its sales fall 12 percent in the developing world in thelast few months. New orders fell by 25 percent in Brazil and30 percent in Russia, and Cisco predicts its overall salescould drop by as much 10 percent this quarter. Its CEO JohnChambers said this was the fastest swing he had ever seenin emerging markets, which analysts say will be an $8.9 tril-lion market by 2020.

AT&T has been trying to buy European companyVodaphone but is facing roadblocks because of its knowncollaboration with the NSA.

U.S. companies are losing business in the move tocloud services, streaming video and machine-to-machinecommunications. In the long run foreign companies couldcome to dominate this area.

A survey conducted after the Snowden leaks found:10% of the foreign companies using cloud computing serv-ices said they’d already cancelled a project with a U.S.cloud provider and 56% said they’d be less likely to useU.S.-based providers. Among U.S. companies in the cloudsector, 36% said that the NSA leaks would make it moredifficult doing business outside the U.S. The report estimat-ed that if U.S. cloud companies lose between 10% and 20%of their foreign business over three years, it will cost thembetween $21.5 billion to $35 billion.

But the report cautions it could get much more expen-sive “if foreign governments enact protectionist trade barri-ers that effectively cut out U.S. providers.” In Europe,momentum in that direction is growing.

Tech companies take on NSA


by Joan Johnson

Imagine having to quit your teaching job, ending yourmuch-loved career, so that you can spend time daily con-

fronting forces that are systematically destroying a 400-year-old island village and way of life, not to mentiondestroying wildlife and marine life, while polluting air, land,and water. This is the ongoing story of 27-year-old Jane wholeft Seoul to work dayand night to defendGangjeong Village,located on Jeju Island,which is 70 miles southof Korea. She is joinedby Jeju Islanders, otherKoreans from the main-land and many concernedglobal citizens as theypeacefully protest theconstruction of a massiveU.S. naval base that willhouse 8,000 marines.

I became acquaintedwith Jane and fellow pro-testers through TheGhosts of Jeju, a film byRegis Tremblay, whospent three weeks lastyear with them, day and night, documenting their struggle.In this remarkable film, he interviews several anti-baseactivists, who I found to be informed, passionate people,connected to the earth, spiritually alive and completely ded-icated to their cause. They come from all walks of life: fish-ermen and women, mothers, fathers, grandparents, children,business people, teens, religious leaders, farmers, collegestudents, and shop owners. And many endure countlessoccasions of police brutality as they block the entrance, holdup signs, sing songs, say prayers, and plead with construc-tion workers, authorities, and armed guards to stop thedestruction. Many have been hospitalized with injuries,thrown into jail, and some are serving prison terms.Undaunted, they remain steadfastly determined to saveGangjeong village, the villagers’ way of life, their heritageand the fragile ecosystem of this pristine Pacific islandhome.

Later in the film, Jane was seen limping, and explainedthat her foot had been stomped on and broken by one of theguards, but she resolutely declared, “I want to continue this

work to the end.”One of many of the nuns present at the gates, Sister

Stella Soh’s relentless determination was also remarkable:“Whenever I have time and money, I come HERE. Americaand their companies construct the base of the war, and Idon’t want to be a slave of the war. America is imperialistic.They dominate our country and prey on the weaker.”

The protesters’ fervency and dedication is certainly

made evident through watching these interviews, but wealso were made aware of the hardships endured just to showup each day; many use all of their vacation time to be there,but it seems that most of the people had to forego work andpaychecks to make this their life’s mission. Despite setbacksand difficult circumstances, activists display so muchresilience and hopefulness. At the end of each day, togetherthey eat a meal, and together they sing and dance. In themidst of so much anguish and hardship, their singing has anuplifting quality, and the joy they exude is so contagious!

Tremblay gives us a much-needed historical perspec-tive, so that we can better understand what some of the pro-testers and/or their parents and other relatives have sufferedin the past. A brutal 35-year occupation by Japan had keptislanders under tight control since 1910, followed by ashort-lived 1945 liberation. After the U.S. helped rig Koreanelections, resulting in the North/South Korea division, JejuIsland fell under the control of a U.S.-backed Korea. In1948, desiring self-governance and self-determination,

Activists protest construction of U.S. base on Jeju Island

Continued on next page


islanders rose up in a peasant rebellion, were subsequentlylabeled “communists” by the U.S., and became victims of ascorched earth campaign, organized and abetted by the U.S.Under their command, thousands were exterminated, 60percent of the island’s villages burned, and survivors round-ed up into concentration camps. Gen. Curtis LeMay, whenconfronted by soldiers who were disturbed by the atrocitiesthey were committing, cavalierly said, “Every soldier thinkssomething of the moral aspects of what he is doing. But allwar is immoral, and if you let that bother you, you’re not agood soldier.”

After enduring this period of genocide and unimagin-able suffering, Jeju Island was designated in 2005 by RohMoo-hyun, South Korea’s president at that time, as an“Island of World Peace.” Caving to U.S. pressure to haveJeju be the “pivot” into the Asia-Pacific, the Republic ofKorea is breaking that promise of peaceful existence bybuilding this monster naval base. One of 40 U.S. bases inthe region, Jeju’s base would be instrumental in containingChina; for example, it would have the ability to stop China’soil shipments in the event of war.(1)

Oliver Stone, interviewed by Tremblay and also quotedin a 2013 “Space Alert” periodical, has pledged his supportto the villagers, inviting the world to understand that this sit-uation“goes beyond South Korea and has turned into aworldwide issue.” He cited the destruction of “beautiful softcoral reefs and contamination of water” as problems thataffect all of us.(2) Echoing Stone’s plea for outside support,Sung-Hee Choi, coordinator of the International Team thatpublishes “The Gangjeong Village Story” newsletter,reminded us, “This is not a regional or local struggle, but aninternational struggle.” She pleaded with us to do whatever

we can to help. (See #5 below) Our local Korean Quarterlyeditor Martha Vickery reminds us of Tremblay’s wordswhen asked what people can do to help, “With knowledgecomes responsibility, and the least we can do is to amplifythe voices of the people of Gangjeong village, and…. sharethe film with as many people as they can reach outto….(The activists) are so beaten down and depressed now,that any support from outside gives them a real boost ofenergy.”(3)

At the film’s screening, Tremblay provided banners forpeople to sign with our names and words of encouragementthat he would later bring to them. I encourage readers toorder a DVD of Regis Tremblay’s “Ghosts of Jeju” (4),watch it a couple of times, and then share it with others, asTremblay suggests, and think about other creative ways tohelp the Gangjeong villagers in their struggle to stop theconstruction of the U.S naval base. Thank you, Regis, foropening our eyes!

For more information on Jeju1. http://www.veteransforpeace.org/pressroom/news/2012/04/27/ us-and-south-korea-assault-an-idyl-lic-island--not-for-the-first-time)2. “Oliver Stone Goes to Jeju,” by Bruce Gagnon,Space Alert Fall 2013 (p. 3)3. “A Haunting Truth,” by Martha Vickery, KoreanQuarterly Fall 2013 (vol. 17, no. 1, p. 49)4. http://www.the ghostsofjeju.net (to order “TheGhosts of Jeju” DVD)5. http://savejejunow.org/gangjeong-village-story-octo-ber-2013 (Newsletter)

students, did a superb job in coordinating our trip.The attendance at the SOA protest is down from years

ago, but the attendance of countries committed to not send-ing soldiers to the school is up to six, now largely due to theefforts of the founder of SOAWatch, Father Roy Bourgoise.

Claire Winzeberg, who is writing an article on the SOAand the trip for the St. Thomas newspaper, wrote this for us:“My experience of the SOA was incredibly powerful. Ilearned so much. I am so overwhelmed by the immensityof the issues we face in our world especially the issue ofmilitarization and its lasting harm. Although I am over-whelmed, I am also hopeful. It was so inspiring to see sucha diverse group of folks come together to protest the SOAand remember the lives that have been lost. I have trulynever been part of something so powerful, and I hope to

God that the SOA is closed someday soon, although I knowthis would only be a small symbolic step towards peace.There is so much work to be done, and my trip to the SOAprotest and vigil has sparked a fire in me to keep activelyworking for a more just and peaceful world. There's workto be done, and I am so willing to do it. Thanks for havingStudents for Justice and Peace from UST on your bus! Ireally do appreciate it!”

Claire’s writing would probably have not taken placewithout the encouragement and organizing of Pepperwolf,the director of Women Against Military Madness, and ourown chapter member Mary McNellis, who both recruitedand organized the bus. Thanks also to all the teachers whoaccompanied the students.

Protesters, from page 1


ONGOING EVENTS

Second Sunday each month, 6-8:30 pm:VFP Chapter 27 general meeting,1806 Riverside Ave., #3A.Executive meeting at 5 p.m.FFI: Larry Johnson at 612-747-3904.

4:30-5:30 pm Weds. Lake Street/Marshal Ave. Bridgevigil.

OTHER EVENTS

Dec 19-22, All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 atheater production based on the true story that startswhen a German soldier steps into “No man’s Land”singing Silent Night during WWI. Directed by PeterRothstein at the Pantages Theatre, 710 Hennepin, Mpls.www.LatteDa.org 612 339 3003

Mar. 16-April 6. Regional premiere of Lonely Soldiers:Women at War in Iraq at History Theatre. Play follows theexperiences of eight female soldiers who were on thefront lines in the early years of America’s recent war, toldin their own words. Special offer for veterans: 2 for 1 tick-ets to any performance. Use promo code “Veterans Day.”30 E. 10th Street, St. Paul. 651-292-4323

April 30. 15th anniversary of vigil at the Lake StreetBridge. Help celebrate 15 years of resistance to war . Wehope that Veterans For Peace and others who have cometo the Lake Street Bridge over the years will join us for thisspecial event.

For information on vigils, go to the VFP websiteat vfpchapter27.org or call 612-827-5364or visit www.worldwidewamm.org

EVENTS CALENDAR

by Wayne WittmanWe are saddened to learn of the death of Harold

Nielsen. Harold died peacefully in his sleep on ArmisticeDay. After serving 40 months in the Merchant Marine dur-ing WWII, he and his wife Louise found Veterans For Peacein our early days. They both attended regular meetings andthey guaranteed our first bus trip to our first rally toColumbus, Ga., in January 1994, which we now call the tripfrom hell as we encountered a blizzard on the way home.

Harold and Louise, through their foundation, fundedthe establishment of our first office including rent and part-time staff. Through their financial help they assisted us inthe first video “Veterans For Peace” along with other videosand the funding of the book Disturbing the Peace, the storyof Father Roy Bourgeois by James Hodge and LindaCooper. Harold was recognized at the VFP NationalConvention with an award and public recognition for hisassistance to Veterans For Peace. It is obvious we cannotknow or acknowledge all the contributions he has made toour world, but we do know that his spirit continues toinspire us and motivate us.

by Steve McKeown

VFP Chapter 80 from Duluth is asking to have letters insupport of the Transform Now Plowshares resisters sent totheir sentencing judge. VFP member Gregory Boertje-Obed, Vietnam veteran Michael Walli, and Sister MeganRice are awaiting sentencing on Jan. 28, 2014, for theirnuclear disarmament action at the Oak Ridge nuclearweapons plant. Letters are being sent in care of their lawyer,who is delivering them. Please join the thousands who sentletters already.

Invite Judge Thaper to think about sentencing in light ofthe fact that this was an act of non-violent civil disobedi-ence intended to awaken the conscience of the nation, andno evidence was presented that it was an act of terrorismmeant to harm anyone. Letters can be sent to:

US District Judge Amul R Thaperc/o Professor Bill QuigleyLoyola Law Clinic and Center for Social Justice7214 St. Charles AvenueCampus Box 902New Orleans, La 70118

Writing and Calling requests

In memoriam

Harold Nielsen

"War deprivation has nevercaused a single case ofpost traumatic stress."

- from a 2012 Armistice Day talk in Californiaby David Swanson, author of “War is a Lie

and When the World Outlawed War”

by Gita Ghei

Members of theMinneapolis Chapter are cre-ating bells by lost wax cast-ing at Gita’s studio inMinneapolis. The groupbegan with research on bells.Steve McKeown recountedthat bells were rung through-out the world on the firstArmistice Day. LarryJohnson and Chante Wolfread about the use of bellsduring wartime and peace-time. Historical inscriptions,anecdotes and other storieswill be compiled by thegroup for a showcase eventon International StorytellingDay, March 20, 2014.

Thus far the group has made a “bell jig,” a turntable

centered for creating a quarter-inch thick wax original bell.The jig has now turned out six plaster cores and five waxpieces. We will spend the next six weeks detailing these“bells” with designs and preparing them for casting. Wewill also be creating other smaller sized artwork out of thewax. We will hold a get-together for our metal pour whenwe cast the bells. This will probably take place in earlyFebruary.

Conversation is lively in our workshop. Please feel freeto visit, just to see what we are up to or as a potential proj-ect for you to join. Please note that beginning in Januarythere is room for up to six more participants in this project.VFP membership status is not required, nor veteran status,for the second half. The bell project originates from a placeof consideration of the concept of peace and the ideal ofnon-violence as an active method in the promotion of peace.These are concepts we consider as we gather for the com-plex work of lost wax casting. Please contact gita([email protected] for the details) We will keep youupdated here as time rolls on and would be glad to show youour project first-hand.


Bell project has January openings

Bruce Berry removes wax bell from mold in Gita Ghei’s studio.

NEWSLETTER BY EMAILPlease let us know if you

want to receive our newsletter by email.Contact: [email protected] wax bell above after it is carved.

Veterans for Peace, Inc., Chapter 271806 Riverside Ave., #3A.Minneapolis, MN 55454

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTEDWinter 2013-14 Newsletter

SUPPORTTHE TROOPS! BRING THEMHOME ALIVENOW!As of Dec. 6, 2013:4,486 dead in Iraq and2,292 combat deaths in Afghanistan.

An estimated 18-22 veterans commit suicide each day,amounting to 35,770 over the past five years.

NON-PROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDTWIN CITIES, MNPERMIT NO. 7675

by Barry Riesch

Congratulations to this year’s lucky winners of theCedar Strip Canoe: Heidi Eschenbacher and her husbandGabe Ormsby.

Our call came as quite a surprise since they didn’t buythe winning ticket; Heidi’s father Joe Eschenbacher, whohas been buying our raffle tickets for years, did, but hedoesn’t put his name on them because “he never wins any-

thing.”Heidi said: “We’re so excited to have won the wood

strip canoe and to have such a beautiful boat for us toshare and use. As a kid, we used to go on father-daughtercanoe trips.”

Heidi works in education internationally on educa-tional system development through the University ofMinnesota and was on her way to Zambia when shereceived our call. Heidi and Gabe assure us they willmake good use out of the canoe.

Canoe Winners for 2013

Documents

VETERANS FOR PEACE NEWS · by shrinking our assets down ever so small. The fine was $100, but that was a deal – A Justice Adventure, not a $250 rotten meal. I apologize to Dr. Seuss